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AG's weapons-ban message misses mark

Updated:
07/25/2016 08:13:51 AM EDT

Give state Attorney General Maura Healey a B+ for banning the sale of "copycat" assault weapons like the AR-15 assault rifle used by the Orlando terrorist killer, and a "D" for the way she delivered the message to the public. Healey used the Wednesday, July 21, opinion pages of The Boston Globe to deliver news of the directive, which takes effect immediately. Healey should realize she's not the AG of the suburbs but the AG of Massachusetts.

In the commentary, titled "Closing the Loophole," Healey wrote: "We are sending a directive to all gun manufacturers and dealers that makes clear that the sale of these copycat assault weapons is illegal in Massachusetts. ... We recognize that most residents who purchased these guns in the past believed they were doing so legally, so this directive will not apply to possession of guns purchased before (July 20)."

Funny, she didn't say who "we" is, although she used the pronoun five times in her article.

Globe customers) still don't know what to expect if they're even seen in a photograph with a copycat weapon. Will they be arrested? Healey didn't answer questions. But an aide said gun owners can call the attorney general's hotline.

Gov. Charlie Baker, who supports Healey's effort, is urging her to clarify the directive - and not by employing the Globe's opinion pages.

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If Healey wasn't out to blindside the state's 350 gun dealers and 378,642 gun owners, she certainly confused them. That's a D in communications, as far as The Sun is concerned. Still, we agree with Healey's mission to rid militarystyle rifles from the civilian population. In 1998, Massachusetts banned the sale of assault weapons like the AK-47 and AR-15. Gun manufacturers, however, created a "loophole" by designing look-alike weapons that don't have high-capacity magazines and other features. In 2015, nearly 10,000 such assault rifles were sold in Massachusetts. Healey's directive halts the end run around the law.

Unfortunately, when news of Healey's order hit social media, it sparked a rush to acquire the weapons. On Wednesday, the day the directive took effect, more than 2,400 rifles were sold. So what will become of the existing assault weapons in the Bay State? Healey's directive doesn't address those concerns, leading us to wonder if there was another way to achieve the desired result without increasing the number of weapons in circulation. (FBI data show rifles were used in just two of Massachusetts' 779 murders from 2010 to 2014. The overwhelming majority involved handguns.) Healey's well-intentioned yet heavy-handed directive set off an unnecessary gun-buying panic. For that, she earns a B+.

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